Twinning Weekend in France

 

Sixteen members of the Club all gathered at 6.20am on Good Friday at the bus stop outside Morrisons and boarded the Shearings coach meeting our driver/tour managers Josh and Jason. We set off and made two short stops to collect other passengers before making our way down to Folkstone Services Stop 24 where we left the coach and gathered in the waiting area,

We then reboarded with the rest of the passengers on our trip, drove the short distance to Dover and after the formalities and a short wait drove onto the P & O ferry to Calais.

In no time at all we were speeding through the French countryside arriving at our hotel for the weekend the Novotel Rouen Sud situated about a 15 minute drive from the centre of Rouen.

The rooms were comfortable and clean, the staff very helpful and the hotel was in a quiet location in a wooded area. It had a restaurant and there were a couple more places to eat within walking distance.

After a good nights sleep and attacking the very well presented breakfast, we were back on the coach for the drive to Monets Garden which was a joy to behold. A fantastic time to be visiting with all of the flowers and plants in full bloom with stunning colours and thanks to our coach crew giving us an early start time, we were ahead of the crowds and able to get round the house and gardens in comfort.

Then it was time to leave and carry on with the days plan which was to be dropped off in Rouen to "do our own thing" and then meet the coach in the early or late evening to return to the hotel.

Unfortunately after only a few kilometres the coach came to a stop on the side of a busy road and a broken fanbelt and flywheel diagnosed.

It being a Saturday afternoon, the mechanic who eventually got us going again had taken about 3 hours to arrive !!

At least the weather was good so we were not confined to the coach. A memorable moment being when a French family who had driven by earlier, stopped and handed over bottles of water which were great appreciated.

We arrived in Rouen centre and found different ways to spend the evening, that for most of us involved finding nice looking restaurants. The majority of us opted to be collected in the early evening and taken back to the hotel after our long day out.

After another great breakfast on Sunday, we were en route for the slightly longer drive to the Palais de Versailles.

We arrived to light rain and already the crowds and queues were forming.

The first impression was of a collection of stunning buildings with incredibly ornate architecture.

Once we had assembled in the drizzle while Josh went off to get the tickets for entry to the famous gardens, we then went our separate ways. Some to wander round the various gardens, some to the outlying buildings on foot or the landtrain and some who had bought advance palace entry tickets to the long queue waiting to go inside.

A straw poll showed that the gardens and outside spaces were universally liked, the interior of the Palais a bit of a mixed bag as many of us felt that after seeing the magnificence of the exterior facades, the interior was great if you like looking at paintings, paintings and even more of the same,  What it didn't lack was crowds of people !

Monday morning, another fantastic breakfast and at Annes's suggestion, a group photo facilitated by Simon before boarding the coach for the return journey which was almost a mirror image of Friday with the exception being the ferry was DFDS from Dunkerque to Dover which was extremely busy.

We arrived back in Downham Market around 8pm.

Our coach crew had looked after us and our bags efficiently and everything (apart from the breakdown) had gone to plan,

The Shearings choice of hotel was excellent and everybody appeared to have enjoyed their weekend spending time with and chatting to members they might not otherwise see much of.

Hopefully a good time was had by all !!!

 

John & Maureen Taylor

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